Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for the development of the Scottish Agricultural College at Auchincruive in Ayr.

Allan Wilson: Development of the Scottish Agricultural College’s campus at Auchincruive is a matter primarily for the college.

  The college is currently developing its proposals for the future of the organisation as a whole. No decisions have been taken and its final plans will be submitted to ministers in due course. When they are, we will give them full and careful consideration.

Airports

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what specific plans it has for expansion of the number of international routes from Aberdeen Airport.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive, in partnership with the Enterprise Networks, VisitScotland and airport operators, continues to look at how best more direct air services serving all parts of Scotland, including Aberdeen, can be developed for the benefit of the travelling public and the Scottish economy. It is for airport operators in conjunction with local stakeholders and, where appropriate, the Executive’s agencies to market the facilities at all airports to airlines, but the decision to develop new international routes is a matter for the commercial judgement of the airlines themselves.

Airports

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what funds it currently has available to assist route development from Scotland’s airports.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive works in partnership with the Enterprise Networks, VisitScotland and the airport operators on how best any available funding can be deployed for the greatest benefit of the Scottish economy and tourism. The Executive continues to encourage the development of more commercial and cost effective air services from Scotland for the benefit of the travelling public and the Scottish economy.

Airports

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its strategy is for the development of international routes from Scotland’s airports and whether Aberdeen and Inverness Airports are part of this strategy

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive works in partnership with the Enterprise Networks, VisitScotland and the airport operators to look at how best more direct air services serving all parts of Scotland can be developed for the benefit of the travelling public and the Scottish economy. Any development needs to be structured to ensure that new routes are in the best interests of Scotland.

  A Scottish Air Transport Consultation Document will be produced in the spring. This is part of an on-going review of aviation/airports policy leading to the development of an aviation policy for the next 30 years. The development of international routes to and from Scotland, including Aberdeen and Inverness, is being addressed as part of that consultation process.

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Pressure Audit, carried out for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, will be made public.

Colin Boyd QC: The survey was commissioned to provide systematic information about the pressure on staff in the department. The results have been made available to staff and trade unions and, in confidence, to the Justice 2 Committee in order to inform the committee’s enquiry into the department.

  The report will not be published but management will use the information, working in partnership with staff and trade unions, to address the managerial, structural and cultural issues facing the department as they take forward the recommendations of the review, published on 4 March 2002.

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what changes in the provision of welfare officers are planned in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and over what timescale any such changes are to be made.

Colin Boyd QC: From 11 March 2002 the department has two full-time welfare officers. The department also has a contract for the provision of welfare services to its staff by the Employee Counselling Service.

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service plans to adopt any training programmes to help staff to avoid stress and manage its consequences and over what timescale any such programmes will be implemented.

Colin Boyd QC: The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is currently examining proposals from a number of external providers for the provision of stress prevention training courses to its staff in the financial year 2002-03.

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessments have been made, or are being planned, of the number of computer workstations required by staff in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

Colin Boyd QC: Information has been sought from every Procurator Fiscal’s Office and Crown Office Headquarters about the number of computer workstations (PCs) required by staff. Our policy is to provide all members of staff, who need them, with direct access to a PC on their desks. The department currently has approximately 1,300 PCs for use by staff.

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how responsibility for strategic planning and planning for change in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is allocated.

Colin Boyd QC: On 4 March, I announced the appointment of a Chief Executive and Crown Agent Designate who will work with senior management to take forward implementation of the recommendations on strategic planning and planning for change of the recent review of the management, allocation and planning of resources at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what arrangements are made by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service to provide relief staff to cover periods when staff are on vacation, attending training courses or absent through illness.

Colin Boyd QC: Arrangements for relief cover are made by line management. Measures may include the transfer of staff from other offices, the temporary appointment of ad hoc (often recently retired) fiscals, and the appointment of casual staff. In addition, the Fiscal Offices may work with other Criminal Justice Agencies to seek to manage court commitments accordingly.

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many times staff in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service have been rewarded as a result of the implementation of a suggestion from a member of staff which was offered through a staff suggestion scheme since 1999.

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what staff suggestion schemes are available in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and how many suggestions have been (a) received, (b) implemented and (c) held for further consideration, all since 1999, subject to the information being provided at a proportionate cost.

Colin Boyd QC: The department does not currently operate a staff suggestion scheme.

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service have a public relations policy.

Colin Boyd QC: In accordance with the Civil Service Code, the department has a policy of providing accurate factual information to media enquiries and to organisations and individuals who express an interest in the public services which its staff provide. The department publishes an annual report and places relevant information on its publicly accessible website:

  www.crownoffice.gov.uk.

  Also, representatives from both a departmental and local level of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service regularly attend at specially organised events in such places as schools and universities to educate and inform members of the community about their role and duties performed.

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive in what publications staff vacancies in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service are advertised.

Colin Boyd QC: Staff vacancies are advertised in the Department’s Staff Notice. When external applications are sought for trainee solicitors, Depute Fiscals and precognition officers, adverts are placed in the Herald , Scotsman and  The Firm Law Magazine . Specialist posts, such as IT and audit, are also usually advertised in the national press and are trawled in other Government Departments. Administrative posts are advertised in local newspapers and job centres. Copies of adverts are sent to the Racial Equality Councils.

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the benefits will be from the installation of the Future Office System (FOS) in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

Colin Boyd QC: The Future Office System (FOS) is intended to enable case marking and summary processing work to be carried out almost entirely electronically. The software programmes will permit standardisation of procedures, thereby increasing consistency, reducing the potential for errors and producing high quality case documentation. FOS should provide better management information, faster processing of initial court documentation, speedier notification of decisions to our criminal justice partners and reductions in administrative effort.

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what management responsibilities legal staff in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service have and what management training is provided to such staff.

Colin Boyd QC: Most legal staff in promoted posts have responsibility for managing the workload and reporting on performance of their subordinates. Two main training courses are provided: one covers topics such as teambuilding, managing teams, time management and motivation. The other deals with performance management including diversity and equal opportunity issues. In addition, legal staff with responsibility for preparing annual appraisal reports on their staff are required to undertake appropriate training.

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many trained Information System/Information Technology staff are employed to develop and support computer systems in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

Colin Boyd QC: There are nineteen members of staff within the department’s Information Systems Unit as at February 2002. This number includes staff working in the national Help Desk support facility based in the Glasgow Procurator Fiscal’s Office.

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what arrangements are made by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in order to enable staff in regional offices to meet senior staff on a regular basis.

Colin Boyd QC: Regional Procurators Fiscal are required to visit offices in their regions when they will aim to meet all staff. They also hold regular meetings with local fiscals. Regional Procurators Fiscal and senior staff will also endeavour to meet all staff when it is important to take forward key initiatives such as the response to a recent Pressure Audit report and the Scottish Health at Work initiative.

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service operate a discretionary bonus scheme and what proportion of the salary budget is allocated to any such scheme.

Colin Boyd QC: The department does not operate a specific discretionary bonus scheme, but under the annual staff appraisal system managers may make recommendations for bonus payments to staff.

Digital Inclusion

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to measure performance in achieving digital inclusion targets by utilising benchmarking and monitoring techniques currently being developed within the European Union.

Iain Gray: The Executive already monitors internet access and usage through the Scottish Household Survey and surveys conducted by the Office for National Statistics.

  Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical information service, is currently developing recommendations on household and individual take-up and usage on the internet. These are expected to be very similar to data collected by the Scottish Household Survey and, therefore, should allow benchmarking with Europe once the recommendations have been put into practice.

Enterprise

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what policies it has to ensure the attraction, creation and retention of company headquarters to and in Scotland.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Following the launch of the Global Connections Strategy in October 2001, Scottish Development International continues to work to attract inward investment to Scotland. Scottish Enterprise's Global Companies Development Programme assists Scottish companies, especially in key high technology areas, to grow by assisting them test, refine and implement international development strategies. The key economic drivers I announced in Scotland’s Economic Future on 12 February are aimed at creating the right conditions for company headquarters in Scotland.

Enterprise

Mr Tom McCabe (Hamilton South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance it is providing to businesses to assist them to trade online.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Assistance on all aspects of e-business is delivered primarily through the Enterprise Networks and takes the form of workshops, seminars, one-to-one advice, and online help. Businesses are advised about the best way for them to implement appropriate e-business solutions, including online trading.

Environment

Mr George Reid (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the First Minister what action, within what timescale, the Scottish Executive will take to implement the recommendations of the Transport and the Environment Committee’s 4th Report, 2002 on Petition PE327 in order to meet the commitment to environmental justice in respect of rural communities affected by the application of sewage to neighbouring fields.

Mr Jack McConnell: We take these issues very seriously. While we will respond to the recent report by the Transport and Environment Committee within two months, I want the Parliament to note that the Waste Management Licensing Regulations are due to be reviewed and tightened up this year.

Environment

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-21592 by Ross Finnie on 22 January 2002, how it plans to make public any reports it receives from the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment.

Ross Finnie: The advice of the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE) is in the public domain and, as such, is routinely placed on their website.

  Following their meeting on 24 January 2002, at which the subject of the presence of transgenic material in native maize in Mexico was discussed, ACRE have submitted their advice on this matter to Government. Given the interest shown in this subject in Scotland, the Scottish Executive has placed the committee’s advice on the GM section of our own website.

Ferry Services

George Lyon (Argyll and Bute) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when the transfer of powers from Her Majesty's Government in relation to the Campbeltown to Ballycastle ferry service will be completed.

Lewis Macdonald: An order to transfer the necessary functions under the Scotland Act will shortly be taken forward in the Scottish Parliament and at Westminster.

  Completion of the process requires approval of both Parliaments and an Order in Council to be made.

Gaelic

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether its Gaelic policy is reversing the decline in the number of Gaelic speakers.

Mike Watson: The Executive's Gaelic policy includes a substantial programme of support for the Gaelic language. This provides specific grants for education authorities to enable them to respond to parents' requests for Gaelic-medium education for their children.

Genealogy

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for a genealogy product development strategy and how much funding has been allocated for this.

Mike Watson: On 24 January, I launched the genealogy tourism website ancestralscotland.com. This website will assist users from around the world to research their ancestry and also encourage them to visit those parts of Scotland where their ancestors lived. VisitScotland has allocated £320,000 for the development and marketing of genealogy tourism in the current financial year.

Genealogy

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which organisations it has identified for potential partnerships to facilitate the delivery of genealogy tourism.

Mike Watson: VisitScotland will lead area tourist boards and enterprise networks in the development of genealogy tourism.

Genealogy

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what advice and support it will provide to any voluntary organisations involved in the delivery of genealogy tourism.

Mike Watson: A research programme to be led by Scottish Enterprise and due to be completed in March 2003 will identify and recommend actions which will be communicated to those bodies involved in genealogy to help them build their marketing and product development strategies. There are no plans to fund voluntary organisations.

Genealogy

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans there are to introduce a quality assurance scheme for family history research.

Dr Richard Simpson: The major series of records about Scotland’s people, including statutory registers of births, deaths and marriages, the open census records 1841-1901, and the old parish registers of the Church of Scotland, are held by the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) in New Register House, Edinburgh. GROS do not, at their own hand, undertake family history research, and it is not within their remit to monitor or to quality-assure those private individuals or companies who do provide this type of service. Neither the Scottish ministers nor the Registrar General have any current plans to introduce a public sector quality-assurance scheme for family history research. I understand that the relevant professional body, the Association of Scottish Genealogists and Record Agents, have entry requirements for membership, and have a Code of Practice to which members are required to subscribe.

Genetically Modified Crops

Iain Smith (North-East Fife) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to make a decision on the proposed GM crop trial at Wester Friarton, Newport-on-Tay.

Ross Finnie: I am able to announce today that the Scottish Executive has approved the release of a GM oilseed rape crop at a further three sites in Scotland this spring. Releases of this crop have only been permitted because of the explicit advice of our expert advisory bodies that the crop can be grown on these sites in safety, both for the people living near the trial sites and for the wider environment. If there was any evidence to suggest that the crop posed a threat to human health or the environment, I would not be prepared to permit the releases on these sites.

  The three sites (two in Aberdeenshire and one in Fife) will join 12 other Scottish sites which have grown GM oilseed rape as part of the farm scale evaluation programme, although the crop has been grown for research purposes in the UK for a decade. This is the third and final year of plantings under the evaluation programme, after which the results will be evaluated and will help inform decisions on whether these crops have a commercial future in this country. The agreement which the Executive has with the industry to permit these trials to take place means that there will be no commercial growing of GM in this country at least until the trials are completed.

Higher Education

Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to increase the number of university students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Ms Wendy Alexander: We are investing in a range of measures to help overcome barriers to higher education, including funding Education Maintenance Allowance pilots to encourage youngsters to stay on at school, providing new bursaries worth up to £2,000 for students and new funding for childcare costs.

  And for the first time we are specifically dedicating resources to the Funding Council to widen access - in addition to the investment already being made in dedicated access projects.

Home Energy Conservation Act

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when the next Home Energy Conservation Act report will be published.

Iain Gray: Not all reports from local authorities have yet been received. When they are, a report to Parliament will be commissioned for publication in late summer or autumn. Copies of individual Home Energy Conservation Act progress reports will be placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

Housing

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Glasgow City Council could invest over £1.3 billion within 10 years in its housing stock without new borrowing, if Her Majesty’s Government offered to write off its capital housing debt on the same basis as proposed for the Glasgow Housing Association.

Iain Gray: The question is hypothetical. Her Majesty's Treasury has agreed to contribute to the costs of debt repayment only where local authorities transfer their entire housing stock into community ownership.

Housing

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-21044 by Ms Margaret Curran on 3 January 2002, on what specific areas the second stage of the Housing Improvement Task Force's work will concentrate.

Ms Margaret Curran: At its third meeting on 4 February 2002 the Housing Improvement Task Force agreed that the work of stage two, the formulation of policy recommendations to address the issues identified in the first stage report (to be published during March 2002), will be undertaken through three sub-groups considering:

  Owner occupiers resident in houses and flats that require improvement or repair;

  Individuals buying and selling property, and

  Landlords renting property in the private sector (and the interests of tenants who occupy these properties).

  Draft remits for each of the sub-groups are included in the papers for the 4 February meeting, which will be placed on the Scottish Executive website.

  The specific policy areas that the sub-group will look at in detail have yet to be decided. They will be agreed at each group’s first meeting to take place from 19 March to 4 April. As with all other papers relating to the work of the task force, the papers for these meetings will be published on the website prior to each meeting.

Justice

Bill Aitken (Glasgow) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidelines are given to police forces with regard to the execution of failure to appear warrants.

Mr Jim Wallace: It is for Chief Constables to determine how best to discharge their duties in relation to court orders after having due consideration to the original offence and, where necessary, in consultation with the Procurator Fiscal.

Justice

Mrs Lyndsay McIntosh (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many referral schemes for arrests in which drugs and/or alcohol feature significantly are currently in place; how many referrals under such schemes have been made in (a) 2000 and (b) 2001 and how many clients so referred have kept the appointment made at the time of arrest.

Dr Richard Simpson: Arrest referral schemes currently in existence have been instigated at a local level, so the information sought is not held centrally. We have announced that the Executive proposes to take legislative powers which will allow us to fund local authority criminal justice social work services to support interventions at the pre-court stage, such as arrest referral schemes. We will consider in due course what information should be collected centrally in relation to such schemes.

Police

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many officers from Strathclyde Police additional to those normally deployed were required at the Faslane Naval Base on (a) 11 February, (b) 12 February and (c) 13 February 2002; who requested their deployment, and who will be responsible for covering the costs for this extra deployment.

Mr Jim Wallace: Strathclyde Police officers do not routinely police the perimeter of Faslane Naval Base. This normally falls to the Ministry of Defence Police. Officers from Strathclyde Police are only engaged in such duties when there are large anti-nuclear demonstrations at the base.

  The police operation in respect of the demonstrations at Faslane during the week commencing 11 February involved the deployment of a total of 880 Strathclyde Police officers. These officers were deployed by the local Divisional Commander for the purpose of minimising disruption to Naval Base Staff, the local community and ensuring the maintenance of public order.

  While the deployment inevitably diverted the officers involved from other duties as well as incurring additional costs in extra duty and other payments, Strathclyde Police dealt with these pressures without making demands on other forces.

Police

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many requests for operational support at the Faslane Naval Base Strathclyde Police received from the Ministry of Defence in each of the past 12 months, detailing the circumstances on each occasion.

Mr Jim Wallace: None.

Police

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been paid to Strathclyde Police by the Ministry of Defence to cover the costs of policing events associated with the Faslane Naval Base in each of the past 12 months.

Mr Jim Wallace: Nil. Strathclyde Police have dealt with the pressures involved in policing these events from within their own resources.

Police

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has cost Strathclyde Police to police the Faslane Naval Base in each of the past 12 months.

Mr Jim Wallace: The extra costs to Strathclyde Police associated with policing the last four major demonstrations at Faslane Naval Base (in February, August and October 2001 and in February 2002) were £114,000, £188,000, £139,000 and £169,000 respectively. Strathclyde Police dealt with these pressures from within their own resources, without making demands on other forces.

Prison Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to the letter to me from the Deputy First Minister and Minister for Justice on 26 February 2002 about the publication of the contract between the Scottish Prison Service and Kilmarnock Prison Services Limited, what is meant by "early next month".

Mr Jim Wallace: The contract was published on the Scottish Prison Service website:

  www.sps.gov.uk on 8 March 2002.

Renewable Energy

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how the target of 30% of electricity being generated from renewable sources by 2020 will be met.

Ross Finnie: Our published target for renewable energy is 18% by 2010. But in the light of the recommendation of the recent PIU report on energy policy that the UK should adopt a target of 20% by 2020, we intend to consider how we might work towards a figure of 30% in Scotland by 2020. Any revision to our target would be made only after a full process of consultation with all interested parties on the many issues that a higher target would raise.

Renewable Energy

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its targets are for renewable energy.

Ross Finnie: Subject to the approval of this Parliament, we will shortly be placing a new Renewables Obligation (Scotland) on all electricity suppliers. Our target is to raise the proportion of electricity supply accounted for by renewable sources to 18% by 2010.

Social Inclusion Partnerships

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-22024 by Ms Margaret Curran on 28 February 2002, which project was closed down and what the reason was for this action.

Ms Margaret Curran: The CHEAF project, based in Milton, Glasgow was closed because it was unable to find suitable premises. CHEAF aimed to provide training, counselling and diversionary activities for 12- to 25-year-olds.

Sport

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to promote women’s golf.

Dr Elaine Murray: We are working to strengthen girl’s and women’s golf through the Junior Golf Development Partnership. Golf is also a core sport of the Scottish Institute of Sport and the National Coach has a specific remit to include the development of girl’s and women’s golf.

Tourism

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Executive will ensure that its new tourism strategy results in tangible benefits for the tourism industry.

Mr Jack McConnell: We are determined to revitalise the tourism industry across Scotland following the difficulties of last year. Mike Watson will chair a group that will oversee implementation of the Framework for Action, which he launched in Oban on 11 March. This group will include representatives from the industry.

Youth Crime

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in rural areas in implementing its Action Programme to Reduce Youth Crime .

Cathy Jamieson: All authorities have received help to establish multi-agency teams to develop programmes aimed at reducing youth crime. The Executive is completing a mapping exercise of all local authorities to measure progress. The results will be available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre shortly.

Youth Crime

Bristow Muldoon (Livingston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to promote restorative justice programmes as part of Scotland’s  Action Programme to Reduce Youth Crime 2002 .

Cathy Jamieson: On Monday 4 March, as part of our Action Programme to Reduce Youth Crime 2002 , I announced a further £2 million to promote restorative justice programmes in authorities across Scotland. This is in addition to the £23.5 million over three-and-a-half years that we are already investing in reducing youth offending.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Parliament Website

Bill Aitken (Glasgow) (Con): To ask the Presiding Officer whether there have been any attempts, successful or otherwise, to hack in to the Parliament’s computer system and what action has been taken on this issue.

Sir David Steel: The Scottish Parliament, like all high profile organisations with a presence on the internet, is a target for attempted hacking and for virus attacks. The Parliament employs several layers of security in line with BS7799 and IT Security best practices, to provide a secure environment for the Parliament’s computer system, and the security measures are constantly monitored and regularly updated.